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Knowing when to fold at the right time is the key to winning in the long run when it comes to any poker game, but it is especially true when playing Texas Hold’em poker. Players across Canada, pro and amateur alike, must remember that patience is even more a virtue in poker than in daily life. No matter how eager you are to win or how much you want to get in on the excitement and action of a hand, sometimes – often, in fact – choosing to fold is the smartest action you can take.

Nowhere is this patience more necessary than when you see your starting hand before the flop. The two hole cards you’re dealt determine your next action regardless of how lucky you’re feeling, how much you want to get involved, or how close you are to winning it all. If your starting hand isn’t strong, chances are you better fold, sit back, and observe the rest of the players patiently and calmly. This is one of the hardest things to do, but this restraint and patience are very necessary if you want to win the game.

Good players fold more often than they play, and this is what makes them so great. If their starting hand doesn’t look promising, they fold and wait for a better one to come along. Depending on who you ask, the ratio of hands played to hands folded can vary, but many veteran players who have had a lot of poker success over time estimate that they don’t play more than twenty percent of the hands dealt to them. This may seem quite low to you, but this is where patience comes in handy! Playing tight will save your bankroll time and time again, and by only betting on hands you feel very confident have the potential to win, you’ll see how great this strategy is as you take pot after pot.